"We are the number one economy in the world, and we ought to continue to pursue those kinds of policies that ensure that we maintain that position, like innovation and like technology and like education and like just research and development and discovery"
About this Quote
What makes the line work is its list-making rhythm. “Innovation and... technology and... education and... research and development and discovery” reads like a greatest-hits playlist of progress. The repetition of “like” is not elegant, but it’s politically useful: it keeps the sentence open-ended, inviting every listener to hear their preferred investment inside the word salad. Universities hear federal grants, tech firms hear incentives, voters hear schools. It’s coalition-building by enumeration.
The subtext is also a quiet act of reassurance in an anxious moment. Early 2000s economic confidence was shadowed by globalization, rising Asian manufacturing power, and the aftershocks of the dot-com bust and 9/11. “Maintain that position” acknowledges fear of decline without naming culprits (China, outsourcing, inequality) that would force harder choices. Instead, Evans offers a forward-looking civics lesson: competitiveness is earned through brains, labs, and classrooms, not just tax cuts or military strength.
It’s technocratic patriotism: a nationalistic claim (“number one”) paired with a politically palatable remedy (innovation) that flatters both the market and the meritocracy, while sidestepping who pays, who benefits, and what gets sacrificed to keep winning.
Quote Details
| Topic | Technology |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Evans, Donald. (2026, January 15). We are the number one economy in the world, and we ought to continue to pursue those kinds of policies that ensure that we maintain that position, like innovation and like technology and like education and like just research and development and discovery. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/we-are-the-number-one-economy-in-the-world-and-we-141265/
Chicago Style
Evans, Donald. "We are the number one economy in the world, and we ought to continue to pursue those kinds of policies that ensure that we maintain that position, like innovation and like technology and like education and like just research and development and discovery." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/we-are-the-number-one-economy-in-the-world-and-we-141265/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"We are the number one economy in the world, and we ought to continue to pursue those kinds of policies that ensure that we maintain that position, like innovation and like technology and like education and like just research and development and discovery." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/we-are-the-number-one-economy-in-the-world-and-we-141265/. Accessed 9 Feb. 2026.
